Description
Rangitoto Island is a volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland, New Zealand. It is 5.5 km wide with a conic volcanic shield reaching a height of 260m. It is the youngest and largest volcano in the Auckland volcanic field. It is separated by the Rangitoto channel from the mainland of Auckland’s North Shore and is linked with Motutapu Island since World War II.
Rangitoto is Maori for ‘Bloody Sky’. The island is regarded as specifically significant because all stagings from raw lava fields to scrub establishments and skimpy forests are perceptible.
The largest of the 50 volcanic Auckland island clusters, Rangitoto is the most contemporary and is created as a spin-off of volcanic flare-ups close to 600 years ago. The rich volcanic earth sediment on Rangitoto island resulted in a triumphant flora surrounded by several wild orchid species in addition to many varieties of fern, making a home of the island. Lava tubes, leftovers of the pathways that lava wafted through, are also an inducement on the island.
The island is also home to the largest forest of pohutukawa trees worldwide. The buildings included some more permanent structures like a seawater pool built of quarried stones by convict labor, located close to the current ferry quay.
